MA Program: Admission Requirements

Academic Requirements

Applicants must have completed, or must be in the final year of an appropriate four-year bachelor's degree program or its equivalent with at least a mid-B (75%) standing in the final year of that program. Applicants educated in a country other than Canada should check the equivalent qualifications table before starting the online application.

Applicants must have a strong preparation in economics, including the following university-level courses.

Two semesters of introductory economics (micro and macro)

Two semesters of intermediate economics (micro and macro)

Two semesters of calculus

Two semesters of intermediate statistics or econometrics.

Please check the additional course information to ensure that you meet the minimum admission requirements for the MA before starting the online application. Please note that these minimum requirements do not imply automatic acceptance into the program. (See FAQ 1 for the typical profile of a successful applicant.) Preference is given to students who have also completed upper-year courses in advanced economic theory, econometrics/statistics, and mathematics. (Note that economic theory courses sometimes are labelled by the topic that they cover such a "General Equilibrium Theory", "Business Cycles", or "Game Theory". We care about the content and not the label.) Your application must be supported by two letters of reference. These letters should be from instructors in courses you took; letters from instructors of hard analytical courses carry the most weight. If you are unable to obtain any letters from instructors in courses you took, choose the best referees you can.

Transcript, GRE and English Language Facility Test Score Requirements

Transcripts from each post-secondary institutions you have attended must be scanned and uploaded following the SGS online applications instructions. Only successful applicants will be asked to have OFFICIAL copies sent to the department. See our application information and instructions for detailed information on transcript requirements. All applicants are strongly encouraged to submit official GRE test scores, and applicants without a degree from a Canadian university are required to submit these scores. Applicants without a degree from a Canadian university may also be required to submit official test scores for English Language Facility tests acceptable by the University of Toronto. Be sure to read the GRE and English Language Facility information for important details on test score requirements. Note: The GMAT cannot be substituted for the GRE test score.

The Admission Process

Once the university's online application form has been completed and the application fee paid (best by December 15, 2017; final deadline January 17, 2018), applicants will receive an email message from the Department of Economics with a link to a supplementary form. When this form is completed and the Economics Graduate Office has received all required supporting documenation (best by January 17, 2018; final deadline January 24, 2018), the department will begin to review and assess the application.

As part of the online application process, applicants scan and upload their academic transcripts, including the description of the marking scheme, which typically is printed on the back of the transcript. Although applicants must perform this upload by January 24, 2018, we strongly encourage all applicants to do so as soon as possible.

The files of applicants who meet the minimum requirements and submit all required test scores and transcripts by the deadline will be reviewed by the Department of Economics Admissions Committee. The Admissions Committee will start round one offers for September admission in late March and early April and continue with subsequent rounds of offers until June. All applicants will be notified either with an offer of admission or rejection of their application by email by the end of June.